Featured Artist : Toni Brou

Toni Brou ("Brew") grew up near Dodge City, KS and learned to love the creative process while watching her father make what he called "junk art" from found objects. Toni went on to earn a BFA in Graphic Design/Illustration from the University of Kansas, in Lawrence.
Toni is a full-time artist, working from home in order to arrange her schedule around her sons. Her found object assemblages sell well in galleries. Toni was looking for a lightweight, functional item to create in addition to her larger sculpted pieces. She happened upon a silk painting book at the library, ordered some blank silk scarves from Dharma Trading, and was instantly addicted.
Toni likes the 11" x 60" and 8" x 54" size scarves. She enjoys painting on all the different types of silk, but her favorites are chiffon and crepe de chine. Toni works in a loose style, without resists, using foam brushes and squirt bottles to apply Jacquard Silk Colors (Green Label). After they are dry and set, she often adds detail with Identipen markers and Decofabric Metallic Markers. She uses Jacquard Dyeset concentrate to set the colors.
You can find Toni's work at her online store, www.thesunporch.etsy.com
as well as Naked Art Gallery, Birmingham AL (www.nakedartusa.com) the Funky Chicken Art Project, Dahlonega, GA
The Gift Itself, Green Bay, WI
Earth Song Creations, Salida, CO